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Updated: Jul 3, 2025

Author Spotlight: Anterior HR-OCT as a Non-Invasive Tool for Characterizing Ocular Surface Squamous Neoplasia
Published on: August 9, 2024
Bowen disease is not synonymous with intraepidermal squamous cell carcinoma
Benjamin A Wood1, Nathan T Harvey2, Nima Mesbah Ardakani2
1Anatomical Pathology, PathWest Laboratory Medicine, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, WA, Australia; Clinipath Pathology, Osborne Park, WA, Australia.
Abstract:
The terms 'Bowen disease' and 'intraepidermal squamous cell carcinoma' are sometimes considered synonymous. In this paper we present historical, clinical, histological and molecular evidence that this is incorrect. The term Bowen disease should be reserved for a subset of intraepidermal squamous cell carcinoma with a distinctive and reproducible morphological pattern, described in detail by Bowen in 1912. One other common subset of intraepidermal squamous cell carcinoma represents progression of actinic keratosis. In some cases the separation of these two common patterns of intraepidermal squamous cell carcinoma can be challenging and there are patterns of intraepidermal squamous cell carcinoma which appear to represent other distinct pathways. However, there is emerging biological evidence to support this distinction and reason to suspect that the types of invasive squamous cell carcinoma which arise from these different pathways may show important clinical and biological differences, particularly in the era of targeted and immunomodulatory therapy for advanced disease.
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